Grade Level
9-10, 11-12Duration
7 periods, 45 minutes in length
Materials
Digital Camera (although can be done with an analog cameras as well) and photo editing software like Photoshop or web application like Pixlr
Media
Photography/Film/Technology
Lesson Objectives
The student will learn…
About the process of artist/photographer David Hockney for his photomontages
How to create their own photomontages
Introductory Activity
Introduce works by David Hockney
List the topics in David Hockney’s work.
Make associations with Cubism.
Do a practice in the classroom.
Lesson Process
Students should think about what subject they would like to tackle. That might be a person, place, object, etc.
Take an enormous amount of photos, a minimum of forty, no maximum. When you are at your location, stay on one spot and shoot. Remain standing in the same spot, only turning on the spot to capture the wider view around you. As you shoot light might change, a model may move- let that all happen! But remember, you can not return to take a section you miss so take your time and shoot the scene completely. Zoom in.
You may consider taking the photographs in rows as well. You will see in Hockney “joiners” (as he calls them) that are in rectangular grids and others that sprawl. Experiment with both.
Be sure to overlap your photographs (includes left, right, above and below).
You can print these images using any popular photo processing service and arrange manually as Hockney did OR you can approach it digitally.
Transfer all your images to a file with a label for the assignment. Open a NEW document in photoshop. The DPI should always be 300 for a good resolution. Everyone’s project will have different dimensions, so their is no standard. To start you may consider the size that it can be printed and use that to inform you. You can also ask yourself is vertical or horizontal, and what style am I using (grid or sprawling). Also know that you can extend your canvas size in photoshop even after you have started.
Bring your photos in and start placing them. If you are using a grid stile enable the ruler and grid and use guides. Place images and build. Sometimes work may line up and sometimes it won’t. That’s what makes it interesting!
Vocabulary
movement, perspective, Photomontage, cubism, joiner, time, motionResources
32 David Hockney Photomontage ideas
Mix it Up! A David Hockney Inspired Photomontage Lesson by Melanie Rapp on Prezi
Author & Website/Blog
Maureen Meyer
Supporting Images